Employee costs in eastern Europe far lower survey

An EU wages survey is helping explain why jobs are migrating east, by comparing the average pay, tax and pension costs.

The average cost of an employee varies from €10,000 in Poland to about €50,000 in Germany, France, Belgium and Denmark.

The average wage in seven Eastern European countries is below €13,000, while the average wage here is more than 2½ times greater, at €34,800.

The survey highlights the vast gaps in tax and pension payments across EU states, with average tax swinging from €356 in Luxembourg and €411 in Poland to €16,632 in Denmark, and compulsory employee pension contributions varying from less than €1,000 to more than €8,500.

Ireland becomes more competitive for employers, however, when employer pension payments are added to wages to give the total cost of employment.

The State has the lowest level of tax and social security as a percentage of total cost of employment at 14.92 per cent. Including employer social security, the total cost of employment here is €38,541, according to the Deloitte 2007 Remuneration Survey. That is 4.6 per cent higher than in 2006.

An earner of the average Irish wage with a partner and child pays just €570 in tax and €1,824 in social security payments. That means they are free to spend some 93 per cent of gross income, the highest proportion in the EU.

A worker on the average wage in Germany earns €42,971, but pays €5,417 in tax and €8,641 in pension contributions, leaving them with a disposable income of €28,913, about €3,500 less than their Irish counterpart.